London council to refund fines after high court ruling
Croydon council will refund drivers who were fined under some of the borough's Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) schemes. Six permanent schemes across Croydon were ruled by the court to have been wrongfully created in order to raise revenue for Croydon Council and not for reasons of road safety or environmental protection. The affected schemes have been discontinued and the council will repay fines that were issued under the schemes.
Conservative Mayor Jason Perry confirmed that the unlawfully introduced schemes had been scrapped permanently and that the council did not intend to appeal against the high court ruling. Mr Perry also stated that Croydon's LTN schemes had been introduced in Croydon in May 2020, before he became mayor, and that his council had not been supporters of the LTN.
Labour's opposition leader criticised the mayor and warned that taxpayers could now face millions of pounds in costs to fill gaps in the council's budget.
The council said the priority was to ensure residents can easily claim back any fines they paid.
Residents whose contact details were held would be contacted and a new online claim form has been launched, the council said.
Defending the council's decision, Perry said, "Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes were introduced in Croydon in May 2020, before I was elected mayor."
The case in the high court was instigated by a local resident and by a campaign group, Open Our Roads. The judge in the case, Justice Pepperall, ruled that as the main intention of the LTN schemes was to raise money for the council, they were not lawful under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.
Croydon Council had been expecting millions of pounds in revenue from the six Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes. Stuart King, Croydon's Labour leader, expressed concern that the loss of the expected revenue would mean more expense for the borough's taxpayers.
Taxi drivers feeling the pain as Middle East war raises fuel prices
The taxi drivers' trade body, the National Private Hire and Taxi Association (NPHTA), has said that cabbies have suffered financial loss due to fuel price rises caused by the conflict currently ongoing in the Middle East.
Taxi fares are set by local authorities, meaning that drivers cannot raise prices in order to cover increased fuel costs. The RAC has reported that average petrol prices have risen to 139.64p a litre, since the beginning of the current hostilities primarily involving Iran, the USA and Israel.
NPHTA director David Lawrie said that taxi drivers have been experiencing a surge in demand as motorists choose to travel by taxi instead of their own cars.
"When fuel prices go up, people are often far more likely to stop using their own cars and rely on the taxi industry instead."
He also said that it could take up to six months before taxi fares are revised to reflect the higher cost of petrol and that, in the short term, drivers have no choice but to pay the additional cost of their fuel in order to carry on.
Mr Lawrie also accused petrol stations of increasing prices prematurely. "We're hearing a lot that forecourts are putting the prices up before they've had a delivery. So they're increasing the prices, despite the fact that the stock they hold is at the previous price. We're watching the prices go up massively day-by-day."
Approximately 20% of the world's oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's threats and actions against ships have made it unsafe for vessels to transport their cargoes through the strait, which is now effectively closed to normal maritime traffic.
More than 100 speeding cars caught by Sussex village campaign
More than 100 speeding drivers have been caught by radar equipment operated as part of an initiative to address the hazard caused by speeding on a dangerous stretch of road. Residents of Cross in Hand in East Sussex set up Cross in Hand Community Speedwatch following a fatal accident that occurred in October 2024 on the A267.
Sarah Jones of the speedwatch campaign said, "This stretch of the A267 is notorious and a bit of a black spot for accidents."
Members of the group use a radar "gun" to record the speed of vehicles at a number of locations in the village.
Ms Jones said, "We've monitored over 3,000 vehicles in our weekly sessions, and 100 drivers have received a letter in the post. This scheme is all about education and prevention; we're not law enforcers. Even just standing roadside in high-vis lets people know we're here to monitor speed."
The Cross in Hand group is one of 360 speedwatch groups in Sussex, which monitor and record instances of drivers breaking the speed limits. Overall, the county's campaign recorded over 43,000 speeding offences last year.
Details recorded by the village's volunteers are sent to Sussex Police, who are able to identify vehicles' keepers from the registration numbers and then to send a warning letter. While the aim is not to prosecute or fine every offending driver, police say that if a persistent speeding driver is identified through the scheme, police can use the speedwatch evidence to take action against them if required.
Woman denied job opportunity due to "too old" car
An 18-year-old woman from Burton Joyce in Nottinghamshire has described how she felt frustrated after being told she hadn't made the shortlist for an estate agency trainee role because her car was too old.
Alanah Thompson French applied for a job as a trainee lettings negotiator at the Haart estate agency in Nottingham in December 2025. She was subsequently told her application would not be taken forward due to the age of her car, a 2014 Citroen C1. The issue, she was told, was that her car was not under 10 years old. Alanah had disclosed the age of her car during the online application process for the role. The process asked whether her car was less than 10 years old and Alanah truthfully indicated that it wasn't.
Although Alanah had not experienced any mechanical issues with her 14-registration Citroën C1, it seems that wasn't good enough for Haart, who said in a statement, "It's extremely important that people who work for us use reliable vehicles for their own personal safety, particularly where they travel many miles each day and often work alone."
An email from Haart, seen by the BBC, confirmed that the reason Alanah had not been shortlisted was the age of her car.
Alanah's mother, Jenni French, said, "The labour market is really tough for young people. I think the more that they're disadvantaged in terms of policies that start limiting their ability to show that they've got skills and knowledge and can do things, I think it makes it harder and harder."
Alanah said she would continue applying for jobs and that she still wanted to work in the property sector.
Learner driver arrested in St Helens for drug driving during test
A learner driver from Wigan in Greater Manchester was arrested for drug driving when the car in which he was taking his driving test was stopped by police because of a faulty brake light.
The arresting police officers said they smelled cannabis while they were speaking to the 26-year-old driving test candidate. The driver was subjected to a roadside drug wipe (a test that detects drug residues on skin and other surfaces) which returned a positive result. He was found to be in possession of cannabis and arrested. Police later stated that the suspect had been released under investigation.
A police spokesman said, “Some people may find humour in the fact someone on a driving test was arrested; drug driving is no laughing matter. It is incredibly dangerous and selfish to get behind the wheel of a vehicle under the influence of drugs, and it’s an offence we take seriously at Merseyside Police.
"If you choose to break the law and take illegal drugs, that does not give you the right to endanger the lives of innocent people on the roads who have no way of knowing you are driving intoxicated.”
Police can stop drivers if they suspect them of being under the influence of drugs. Suspects can be subjected to impairment tests, such as walking in a straight line. Officers can also use roadside drug kits, including drug wipes, to test for cannabis and cocaine.
When drivers are suspected to be unfit to operate the vehicle due to drink or drug use, they can be arrested and required to give a blood or urine sample.
